Audit Board Asks Judge to Toss ‘John Doe’ Enforcement Challenge

The US audit regulator defended its in-house disciplinary process Friday, asking a Texas judge to dismiss a suit challenging its enforcement and funding authority on the same day that the Supreme Court found that individuals could take similar agency challenges straight to federal court.

An unnamed accountant suing the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board must take advantage of administrative appeals to the Securities and Exchange Commission before challenging the board’s investigations in federal court, the agency argued in a filing seeking dismissal of the case.

Lawyers for the board argued that Congress spelled out the procedure for disciplining accounting firms ...